HOWARD KNIVETON

500 MILES UK NATIONAL 3 PEAK CHALLENGE FULLY SELF SUPPORTED

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What it really takes to hike 500 miles

On the 16th of January, I stood in Fort William with a 23-kilogram rucksack on my back, winter pressing in from every direction, and a simple but serious objective:Hike 500 miles across the UK, cover the UK 3 peaks (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in winter, self-supported. Not to be confused with the UK 3 peaks 24 hour challenge...No support crew. No vehicle transfers. Just one step after another until the job was done. By the 11th of February, I had completed it. But the miles were only part of the story. This journey was about resilience, identity, transition, and proving to myself that when I say I’ll do something — I follow through.

The expedition was completed in support of SSAFA, an armed forces charity supporting veterans, including those facing homelessness. As someone serving in the RAF Regiment at the time, raising money for veterans felt natural. But the connection went deeper than that because I’d be wild camping in winter, I wanted to experience — even briefly — what harsh outdoor conditions feel like when you have no choice. Sleeping rough in freezing temperatures, battling wind, rain, hunger and fatigue gave me a new perspective on what some veterans face daily. This was my first charity challenge.I set a fundraising target of £5,000 and ultimately raised £1,600. I didn’t hit the target, but I’m proud of what it achieved — and the exposure it brought to the cause.
The challenge gained attention across multiple media outlets:
BBC, ITV, BFBS Military Radio, BBC Radio Sheffield, Yorkshire Post (including a photoshoot), Sheffield Star and the Rotherham Advertiser. For something that began as an idea during boredom, it quickly became something real.

How to prepare the body & mind for hiking 500 miles

During my preparation I made sure that I put my body through hell. I purposely made sure I got blisters by hiking 20 miles without breaking new boots in. I’d do wild camps each week in the Peak District in the winter, wake up at 02:00 get out of my sleeping bag and start cooking a ration pack, then summit small peaks at 03:00-04:00.I made sure that whenever it rained, I’d go on a TAB/hike around camp. I’d also do 2 sessions per day (mostly strength sessions) and I didn’t exactly stick to a particular programme, I just made sure my body got battered in my training and my mind kept up.A morning workout during work hours, finish work eat scoff and wait until 21:00-22:00, take 2 scoops of darkstims pre workout and drive 20 minutes to the gym (yes, off camp) do a second session lasting approximately 60 minutes when I was absolutely shattered, drive back and I’d sleep between 23:00-00:00 during the working week.I’d spend hours each week on the stair master, one session every week was climbing the Burj Khalifa which was HORRIBLE, 55 minutes of pain. Doing this, I didn’t gain any strength or size but I built more discipline and work ethic which was exactly what I needed for the challenge ahead!

The First Steps — Scotland Hits Hard

The challenge started tough and stayed that way. The West Highland Way — the first 100 miles — was the hardest section of the entire journey. Cold, rough terrain, and the shock of carrying a heavy pack meant there was no gentle introduction. Food was difficult to find in the Highlands during winter, with many places closed. For the first six days I had to ration carefully. Momentum hadn’t built yet. My body was still adjusting.The weight of the pack was relentless. But the views were incredible. My first day climbing Ben Nevis was one of the most memorable of the entire expedition.
Clear skies, visibility for miles, and that feeling of being right at the start of something big. The snow, however, was brutal. Above knee height, then up to hip height, I was forced to lift my legs constantly with every step. I made it to roughly 1,100 metres but couldn’t safely continue. That deep powder snow contributed to the pelvis strain that would later nearly end the expedition.

I averaged around 20 miles per day, with some days reaching 26 miles, shorter recovery days around 15 miles and days when I would do a summit of the peaks I would only do 10 miles.The WHW including Ben Nevis took 6 days and because I was doing it in reverse (starting at Fort William) I had the hills to deal with first. By far the hardest days of the hike were climbing Ben Nevis due to the deep powder snow which battered my pelvis (touch on that later) and day 2 from Glen Nevis camp site to Kinlochleven. You might think, surely the first couple of days would be the easiest but because I had no motion, still getting used to the rucksack and the terrain was hard going on every part of my body!Despite it being physically and mentally tough, the views were INSANE! The snow capped mountains wow...Most nights were spent wild camping in my tent during the West Highland Way. I stayed in a bothy once (Doune bothy), where I met someone who had already lit a fire much to my surprise as I hadn't seen anyone at this point because hiking the WHW in winter is not that popular (who would've guessed?).This was by far the scariest part of the hike because I believe in the paranormal and a bothy in the middle of the woods seems like THE BEST place to see something spooky, not only that... the night before I watched haunted bothy YouTube videos (that wasn't the smartest thing to do). On multiple occasions I would hear nearby barn doors slamming and strange noises outside and I actually remember needing the toilet late in the night, I put my 1100 lumen head torch on, opened the bothy door and guess what I saw?!A dozen glowing eyes staring back at me, I knew deep down they were Deer but these glowing eyes kept coming closer and closer. I was having NONE of that, so I slammed the bothy shut and never bothered coming out until the morning.The day after, I covered the eastern side of Loch Lomond doing the first 10 miles solo and the last 10 miles with my brother. It was great to have some support even though it was a "self supported" challenge.

The worst weather came near Balmaha, at Conic Hill.
Torrential rain. Winds that felt like 60–70mph. Strong enough to move me even with a heavy pack. My rucksack rain cover blew off completely. My boots filled with water. Gloves soaked through.
Everything felt like it stopped being waterproof. But I kept moving. I remember this day very clearly because for lunch I stopped off at Drymen and like every day on this journey, drentched from top to bottom and I'd get into generic conversation where I'd talk about SSAFA, the hike, what I'm doing and where I'm going etc etc and many people would overhear conversations and would give me cash which later I would donate to SSAFA. This happened a lot, again further down south in Glasgow. I was a head turner, not because I'm so good looking but because they see a young lad with hiking poles (which old people usually use) and a ridiculously large rucksack, people tend to ask "what are you doing'' or "where are you going". So, one time walking past a row of pubs in Glasgow on a Friday night I get stopped by a group of fellow pub folk who funnily enough thought I was famous (because I said I was on the BBC) , everyone wanted a selfie and I must have gotten nearly £100 just from that pub!My time in Scotland was a blast and it's true what they say about Scottish folk, they're nicer than the English and Welsh and I have first hand experience on that. More people donated to the cause, I met more people and everyone was more giving and kind. Cole, who I met on the way down from Ben Nevis is a stuntman and does a lot of adventurous activities including hiking and mountaineering, he donated £100 to the cause. This journey has opened my eyes to how kind complete strangers can be.

Injury at Mile 160 — The Turning Point

In Moffat, around 160 miles in, I suffered a pelvis strain, an overuse injury right from the beginning.
That was the first time quitting felt real, I phoned home (not an E.T reference) and got moral support and advice from my mum and brother which was helpful. I went to hospital, received medication (Naproxen), and seriously questioned whether I could continue. Instead of stopping, I adapted. I sent a large portion of my wild-camping kit home and reduced my pack from 23kg to around 13kg. From that point forward, I carried only the essentials. But the injuries didn’t stop there. Knee pain and Achilles pain developed days after. From that point on, every step hurt. There wasn’t a single pain-free step. That’s where discipline and resilience mattered most.

Over halfway through the challenge, heading towards Scafell Pike going through Keswick and the Lake District. The pelvis strain I picked up from day 1 and nearly put a finish to the challenge at mile 160 had recovered a lot (much to my surprised), every step was still painful but I didn't need to take anymore pain relief, it was manageable. Throughout the challenge I never set a time deadline say a time to finish 20 miles because I knew if I rushed it by running I would increase the risk of injury, especially to the pelvis. So as long as I did the miles that day and I got pitched up or checked into the hotel no later than 18:00 I was happy, doing that gave me just enough time to get food and rest my feet ready for the next day. This meant that if I did anymore than 20 miles I'd need to wake up early and set off no later than 08:00 but anything less, I could stay in bed an extra hour (yay!)Further down the Lake District, I made the decision to stay at the foot of Scafell Pike (Wasdale Inn) which I would highly recommend for a lot of reasons, friendly staff, good food, comfortable bed, a bath, a working radiator and hairdryer. The latter 2 things were what I always wanted to see in a hotel room because a lot of the time I would check in soaked! The following day, as early as possible I hiked up Scafell Pike reaching the summit at around 11:00, this was a lot easier compared to Ben Nevis not just due to height but due to the compact snow, I could actually use my micro-spikes giving me more grip. The route was fairly easy as I had already done Scafell Pike during my preparation. Coming down from Scafell Pike took hours and was fairly difficult due to the snow and manoeuvring down the mountain ranges destroyed my knees, by the end of the day my knees were shot.

After I had hiked through Grasmere, Windermere and Kendal the route got boring. More B roads and more towns. At this point I was missing the mountains as I really did enjoy them, I get why people winter hike now! Heading towards Lancaster, Preston and then all the way down to Chester all felt the same. Thinking back, it would've been very difficult to pitch my tent and stick to my plan if I decided to pitch somewhere in large towns/cities because during winter a lot of campsites are closed and the only real option is to sleep in a bus stop (which I did once halfway between Glasgow and Carlisle), sleep in a train station or at least in a small shelter or get a hotel. I didn't take that many photos until I got closer to Wales where I knew it would open up more. I originally planned to go straight across Wales going through Mold, Ruthin and towards Betws-y-Coed however I was sick and tired of B roads so I made a last minute decision to go along the north coast of Wales, where I would get a change in scenery, unlimited fish and chips and cotton candy! This route took me through Rhyl, Llandudno and then down towards Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), this was actually a smarter decision because at this point my pelvis injury was getting a bit worse and my Achilles pain was hurting so travelling through towns which had medical support and a population was wise.Like in Scotland, I met so many nice people complete strangers who would stop and chat and even donated money. It was usually in pubs where I'd stop off at in the evening, they were the best places to get some donations.

After hiking another 100 - 150 miles in Wales along the northern coast and heading south through the mountains towards Snowdon, I stayed at the youth hostel ready to summit it the next day. I had never done Snowdon before so I did a small recce the night before, planning which route would be best to take (I took the PYG track instead of the miners track because it was said to be easier and doesn't take as long), Snowdon was by far the easiest one out of the three, there was hardly any snow, it wasn't cold and wasn't windy. The only problem was the rain and even though I was wearing top of the market Goretex Pro clothing, the rain still got through but I was unfazed since this was the final day. Luckily, like the other mountains I hiked, I met 2 other lads on the way up, other than these 2 I met, I saw nobody else that day.

More than just miles...

Five hundred miles ago, I began this journey carrying a heavy rucksack, a rough plan, and a challenge that felt far bigger than anything I had attempted before, without knowing exactly how it would unfold or how many times I would be forced to dig deeper than I expected just to keep moving forward.At the start, it felt like a physical challenge, something measurable in distance, elevation, and endurance, but somewhere along those long winter days — between the deep snow in Scotland, the endless roads through towns and countryside, the injuries that forced me to adapt, and the quiet hours spent walking alone with nothing but my thoughts — the journey became something much more personal.What changed most wasn’t the route or the conditions, but my perspective, because when you spend that long committing to forward movement with no shortcuts and no easy way out, you begin to realise that growth rarely comes from comfort, confidence rarely comes from waiting, and clarity rarely appears before you begin; instead, all of those things are built through action, persistence, and a willingness to keep going even when the outcome is still uncertain.This expedition marked a turning point in my life, closing one chapter while opening another, as it represented the end of my time in the RAF Regiment, where I developed discipline, structure, and resilience, and the beginning of a new direction in which I am choosing to build something for myself, create opportunities on my own terms, and step into an unfamiliar life abroad with the same mindset that carried me across the country.Moving from military routine to independence, from familiar surroundings to starting fresh in Thailand, and from following a defined path to creating one for myself has made me realise that the biggest shifts in life rarely happen when everything feels ready or comfortable; they happen when you decide that something matters enough to take the first step before you know exactly how it will work out.Because once you begin, momentum has a way of building on itself, and with every step forward you learn something new, adapt to what’s in front of you, and slowly develop the confidence that only comes from doing rather than thinking.Looking back now, I don’t just see a completed hike or a distance covered; I see proof that commitment matters more than certainty, that resilience is built through repetition, and that progress often comes quietly, one step at a time, long before you realise how far you’ve come.If there’s one thing I would want someone reading this to take away, it’s that the things that change your life rarely begin with perfect timing, detailed plans, or total confidence; they begin with a decision, followed by action, followed by the willingness to keep moving even when the path ahead is still unclear.This hike may have finished when I reached the end of the route, but what it gave me — the mindset, the perspective, and the belief that I can step into the unknown and figure things out along the way — is something that will carry forward into whatever comes next.And if there is one truth that this journey reinforced more than anything else, it is that the distance is never the hardest part; the hardest part is deciding to begin, because once that first step is taken, everything else becomes a matter of continuing forward until you arrive somewhere you once only imagined.P.S. If you'd like to see more follow me on Instagram and watch the story highlights